ZING! ZANG!! ZOOM!!!

Want to see an excited 5-year-old? Tell her/him that you have tickets to the circus and that will do it for sure!! Katelyn loves the circus, so when we heard that the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was coming to town, we decided to take her again. Right, she's been before; I think this was her 3rd time. But it never gets old, and the circus changes their acts each time so there are always new surprises. Mike & I LOVE going to special events with Katelyn. We absolutely look forward to it as much as she does, if not more. We both love to watch her face light up with excitement. I can't imagine not sharing these special moments with her.

This year's circus didn't disappoint either. It was full of magic tricks, high-wire acts, acrobats, and animals~tigers, dogs, horses, and elephants to be exact. I will say that the circus of 2009 is different from the circus of my childhood. For one thing, the acrobats no longer fly thru the air with the greatest of ease, but are hooked to a cable suspended from the ceiling so they can't actually fall to the net below or their death, whichever. (We sat in the 3rd row and could actually see the cable; but I imagine if you were sitting higher up you wouldn't see the cable.) Still, I think the acrobats are brave, (or stupid), because one thing's for certain you wouldn't find me riding a unicycle across a highwire-cable or not!!!!

My favorite part of the circus is always the animals. I am just amazed by how well-trained they are. I find myself constantly saying, "how'd they get them to do that?" Katelyn was very impressed by the animal shows too, especially the dogs. Doesn't surprise you does it?? For me, it was the tigers. The trainer had total control over all (8) of them, just him and those 8 tigers in a cage with only one way out. Didn't he hear about Sigfreid or was it Roy? Whatever.

Why is it a $5.00 hotdog at the circus tastes SO much better than a weiner from your own fridge?? And the popcorn?? Don't even get me started on how much I love stadium popcorn!!

After the circus, Katelyn informed us that she had changed her mind and was now going to be an acrobat when she grows up. Mike and I were both like, uh, no-I don't think so!!! I know it's important to be supportive of your kid's dreams and all, but if she wants us to pay for her college education, she better stick with vet school!!!

These are pictures from the pre-show.


Did you know elephants can play basketball?

And paint too.

And what's an elephant's favorite treat? Nope not peanuts, it's a loaf of bread! Betcha didn't know that!!


It costs a pretty penny to go to the circus or any other big event like it. But it's SO worth every cent. Sure we could put that $200 away for a rainy day or save it for our retirement or whatever. But the bottom line is, Katelyn's little now. In 10 or 15years do you think she's gonna want to go the circus with her parents? NO~Of course not; she'll be too busy with her friends, or LORD help me, a boyfriend. We, as parents, don't get these moments back. The smiles, the laughter, the curiosity, the joy, it's all happening right now. We don't want to miss a single opportunity to share something new and exciting with her whether it's going somewhere on vacation or to the circus, the theatre, or the pumpkin patch. Now. Now is what matters. So what's up next for us...Disney on Ice here we come!

CARPE DIEM!!!